It takes a pretty special kind of band to land a release on ATP Recordings. But then, New War are pretty special. They’re not your regular band, they’re as much about effecting change as making music, and come with a bold manifesto that sets them apart from their peers and explicitly states why they’re important and a band for our troubled – and bland – times.
‘A common complaint of 21st century music is that, with the ability to create & communicate at its most accessible point in history, there is very little being said. In light of the myriad holes humans keep digging & falling into, music is in real danger of becoming pure advertising for the mundane & narcissistic. NEW WAR from Melbourne, Australia are a tonic then, possibly an antidote, or perhaps something larger.’
Whether they manage to live up to this is a matter of debate. They’re certainly not 100% unique – but then, that doesn’t necessarily contradict or negate their artistic ethos. To unpack this a little: New War draw on myriad reference points, a number of which cross with, amongst others, She Wants Revenge, but equally, their producing music that’s overtly ‘rock’ in sound while adhering to a strict ‘no guitars’ places the band in the sphere occupied by the likes of The Young Gods.
What isn’t up for debate is whether or not their debut album is any good. It is. It’s stunning. It’s hypnotic. It’s intense.
The stammering yet insistent opener ‘Game of Love’ has the hallmarks of classic industrial / techno, a dash of Cabaret Voltaire, building on an urgent beat a swirl of noise… The loping rhythm of ‘Revealer’ is coupled with a strolling bass and atmospheric synths, while single ‘Ghostwalking’ is haunting and theatrical, underpinned by a dubby beat and solid, near subliminal bass.
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Chris Pugmire’s vocal inflections are reminiscent of Marc Almond, in particular on the aforementioned ‘Game of Love’ and the Suicide-like ‘Hourglassed’, which cuts a tripwire tension and builds to a snarlingly ferocious intensity, a cacophony worthy of The Birthday Party. It’s not the lyrical content that counts as much as the savage delivery. Sling in some swaggering brass and you’ve got a recipe for something altogether removed from your standard new wave reproduction fodder that’s in circulation right now.
‘Slim Dandy’ is hypnotic and built on heavy repetition, and again it’s all in the delivery as it whips up a surging charge, Pugmire hollers and whoops. They crank up the sleaze on ‘Wishlist’, a dense smog of sound billowing over a clattering primal percussion. It’s powerful stuff, with the last track, ‘Josef’s Hands’ sitting somewhere between early New Order, The Black Angels and The Young Gods.
In a year that’s already thrown up a raft of killer releases, New War have emerged as strong contenders for the end of year lists with a dark epic that stands out as being daring in its difference and ambition and truly monumental in its execution.
New War Online
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